1. "Dribble Across A Square™" * * * * (Control dribbling, speed dribbling, turning, peripheral vision, instinctive reactions and reflexes, shielding the ball in traffic, looking for "Open Space", acceleration into open space, how to "Breakaway", U-8 & up)
"We played Dribble Across a Square and Dribble Around the Cone and Pass Relay Race at every practice, and the results were phenomenal." Coach Greg, U-9 Coach and Premium Member, USA
"I have used your "Dribble Across A Square" free soccer drill. Within three practices I could tell a difference in the girls’ soccer skills." Coach Ellen
For U-6, make the square 5 or 6 adult steps wide and have the players just dribble across and stop (don't have them turn and dribble back). As soon as they have all dribbled across, have them all face inward and dribble back across to the opposite side and stop. Continue this approach of dribbling across and stopping each time until they have crossed the square 6 to 8 times (each trip across is "one"). Don't try to teach turns and don't keep score, just encourage them all and have fun. The benefit of this for U-6 is learning to dribble in traffic. Tell them to focus on their own ball and to NOT try to kick anyone else's ball.
Comment:
This is the best way to teach dribbling and how to use the bottom of the foot & the inside & outside of the foot to stop the ball and turn. Easy set-up & everyone has a ball. This is a great warm-up. It is 10 times better than dribbling through cones & is a good way to evaluate dribbling skill. This game helps children's brains to learn to process a lot of activity, to use peripheral vision, and to make correct, instinctive decisions and maintain composure when under pressure and in heavy traffic..
Teaches:
Control dribbling, speed dribbling, to look up while dribbling, turning, how to dribble through traffic without panicking, shielding the ball, how to naturally find open space, "strength on the ball", dribbling under pressure, and instinctively avoiding other players. Players learn to use peripheral vision, to shield the ball when in traffic, and that they can speed up if they get in the clear. It is a "self-teaching" game and playing the game really teaches these skills and self-confidence & composure in heavy traffic & under pressure. It also teaches composure in chaotic situations and how to recognize openings in traffic and when it's safe to speed up. You will notice an improvement in "field vision" and "field awareness" (the ability to see opportunities in a crowd and across a field, and to make quick, instinctive, correct decisions). Playing this in a square that is 10 steps wide teaches "Control Dribbling", and making the square 15 to 20 steps wide will teach players how to look for Open Space, accelerate, Speed Dribble and "Breakaway" (how to look for Open Space, accelerate into it, and Speed Dribble).
Set-up:
Use 4 disk cones to make a square about 10 steps wide (smaller or larger depending on age & number of players) -- make your "steps" the size of your players; so a "step" for U-8 is shorter than a "step" for U-14... by doing this, the square will always be about the correct size for your players.
Every player has a ball
Spread players around the square, all facing inward (like below):
The Game:
All players start on "Go" & each player dribbles across the square & back. (Tell them to dribble to the imaginary line on the opposite side of the square, make a turn & dribble back to where they started. Point out at the first of the game that the cones create an imaginary "Starting Line" and "Turning Line" for each player).
Teaching Turns Among the best ways to turn are a "Pullback", a "Stop/Turn", a "Cutback" or a "Hook Turn" to turn. Demonstrate the different ways to turn and then let each player choose the one that works best for them. When going really fast, a "Stop/Turn" is a good way to turn... when not going so fast, any of the 3 other ways are good. The way that is best for one player may not be the best for another. If certain players are doing better on their turns, have them demonstrate while the others watch. Your players will want to be able to turn better so they can improve their scores. You can give them "Tips" about how they can get a higher score. Here is a brief description of several turns: Do a Pullback, aka a "Drag Back", by putting the bottom of the foot on top of ball to stop it & then pull it back in the direction you came from. Do a Hook Turn by pulling the toes up & turning the foot so the outside of the foot can "hook" the ball, stop it & pull it back. A Cutback uses the inside of the foot to hook the ball). See photos of a Pullback (called a "Drag Back"), Hook, Cutback & Stop/Turn at www.fa-soccerstar.com (click "Turning" on the left side and then "How To Master" on the right side above the photo).
Tell players to look up while they dribble so they don't run into each other (don't worry, there won't be many collisions).
Each player keeps count of his or her trips across the square. The first to 12 is the winner (each time he turns is "one"). Tell players to yell "Done" when finished and ask each player his score after each game.
Play 3 games; 1st to 12, then to 10, then to 8. Play at the start of practice as a warm-up and at the end of practice until dribbling skills improve or your team gets tired of this game. For beginners, let them decide how to turn using the method they are most comfortable with. For advanced or select players, require a Pullback one game, then a Hook, then a Cutback. Let a "Stop/Turn" count for a Pullback.
Teaching Acceleration into "Open Space" and "Speed Dribbling", and how to Breakaway. After your team has played this game in a few practices, play the game twice with the square the smaller size (about 10 "steps" wide, using the "step" length of your players), which will teach your players "control dribbling" and improve their reactions and peripheral vision, and THEN make the square larger so it is less crowded (about 15 to 20 steps wide - use your own judgment) and use the larger square to teach your players how to look for Open Space, accelerate into open space, and Speed Dribble -- this is an important skill that will help them learn how to "blow past" an opponent and will lead to "breakaways". Play 2 more games with the larger square. In the larger square, players will still have to "Control Dribble" when in "traffic," but they will also have to learn how to look for "Open Space" and to quickly accelerate and "Speed Dribble" when they get Open Space. Tell them that they can go faster if they kick the ball in front of them, but they MUST still keep control of the ball. If they kick it too far, they won't be able to make their turn. In most games, a player will lose the game if he or she loses control of the ball even once. The game is self-teaching, but it is helpful for the coach to be encouraging and to point out at the end of each Game how players can improve their performance by giving "tips" on how they can improve their score. A simple way to do this is to point out what the player did who won the Game. For example, in the smaller square, the winner will be the player who keeps the ball near his feet, "Shields" the ball from traffic, and makes the turns without losing the ball -- the winner will keep control of the ball. In the larger square, the winner must still keep control of the ball, BUT the winner will also look for Open Space and kick the ball into it so he can Speed Dribble, and he will still make the turns, so he can't kick it too hard. This is very much like a real game, where if you don't keep control you will lose the ball. This approach works because the players want to improve their score and if they use your "tips" they will see immediate results and get higher scores.
Teaching Points:
"Control Dribbling" - When in traffic, keep the ball close to your feet so you can protect it ("shield" it) and learn how to look up while dribbling by keeping the ball close to your feet so you know where it is.
"Speed Dribbling" - Keep the ball near your feet when you are in traffic, but look for Open Space and when you get "open", kick the ball into the Open Space using the inside of foot or the "laces" and run to it so you can go faster, but you must still keep it under control so you can turn, so don't kick it too hard. To Speed Dribble, you kick the ball forward using the outside top of the front of the foot (not the inside of the foot). For a video of the correct method of Speed Dribbling, see the Anson Dorrance-Tom Stone Soccer Clinic DVD at minute 19:15, “Dribbling for Speed”.
With some games such as "Dribble Across A Square", a few players might win all the time unless the rules are adjusted. I don't think you would have that problem with the "Dribble Around Cone and Pass Relay Race" and similar games because you can balance the teams.
If the same few kids are winning a Practice Game all the time, here are some ideas to think about:
Use an approach sort of like a golf handicap: start the weaker players with a few points. For example: everyone but the very best kids start with "1" or "2" or even "3".
The best approach is to give the rewards for "individual improvement". A way to do that is similar to a bowling average. Let's say one kid's average was 7 in "Dribble Across". If that kid gets 9, they would have earned a patch based on their improvement. That way everyone could win one.
For the "Dribble Across A Square" game, instead of a Square, make a rectangle and have your best players dribble across the long side and the weak players dribble across the short side. Adjust the lengths of the sides so it balances things out and creates a challenge for everyone (for example, make it 10 x 12 instead of 10 x 10). Let there be 2 sets of winners: a winner among the "Best" players and a winner among the "Weak" players, both of whom get a patch. That way everyone will be motivated to do their best and feel they have a chance to win a patch, and you can monitor improvement.
Benefits Of The "Dribble Across A Square Game (Premium Version)":
It is the best way to teach dribbling.
It is 50 times better than dribbling through cones.
It is a good warm-up.
It is quick and easy for one coach to set up and manage the game.
It is a great way to evaluate dribbling skill.
Based on the results we have had, we believe playing this game helps children's brains learn to process a lot of activity, that it teaches them to use peripheral vision, and that it teaches them to make correct, instinctive decisions and maintain composure when under pressure and in heavy traffic. In addition to improved dribbling skill, we have noticed significant improvement in "field vision" and "field awareness".
You can monitor each player's progress by asking each player his or her score at the end of each game.
Playing the game teaches "Control Dribbling", "Speed Dribbling" ("Running With the Ball"), shielding the ball, to look up while dribbling and the Premium Version teaches 4 types of turns (how to do a "Pullback", aka a "Drag Back", a "Stop/Turn", a "Cutback" and a "Hook Turn"). It is a "self-teaching" game and playing the game teaches these skills.
Monitoring Progress. Each player keeps count of his or her trips across the square. A player gets one point each time he or she turns. Have the first player to reach the target score (e.g., 12 or 10) yell "Done". As soon as a player yells "Done", blow your whistle and have all the other players stop as soon as they get back to the closest side of the square. Then, ask each player his or her score so you can monitor each player's progress. What I would do is start with one player and ask: "John, what was your score?" and then quickly ask each of the others. It is also an opportunity to praise anyone who has improved or to give tips such as "It is very important to keep control of the ball on your turns. If you lose the ball it will cost you several points". This only takes 2 or 3 minutes.
Remember to praise each player's improvement. For Recreational teams, we suggest not comparing players to each other, but judging each player's progress based on his or her individual improvement (it really isn't fair to compare unathletic players to athletic players). In our experience, praise is more motivating than criticism.
The "Dribble Across A Square Game" is a copyrighted SoccerHelp exclusive. It was created by us and is available only on SoccerHelp and SoccerHelp Premium.
Other SoccerHelp and Premium Practice Games That Teach Dribbling and Footwork Include:
How to Get Your Players to Listen to You (Tips for This Game):
This is easier than you think: Let’s say you’re playing "Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race". Play it once and ask "Who wants to win this game?" Tell them you will give them a tip that will help them win. Here's an example of a tip: Tell them that the player who starts with the ball can kick the ball in front and run to it as a way to go faster. Tell them they will just have to be sure to not kick it too hard. (Demonstrate or have a player demonstrate). Another tip: Pass the ball as soon as you can after you have rounded the cone. Another tip: The Receiver must stay on his toes and watch for whether the pass is going to his left or right and start to immediately move that way – the Receiver’s most important job is to STOP the pass, because if one pass gets by him his team will lose the game (this will start to teach Receiver’s that they can’t just stand still and wait for the ball to come to their feet – the Receiver MUST stop the pass, just as they must in a real game). Another tip: The Receiver can start moving toward the ball as soon as it is passed (that’s the rule in this game and probably would also be how you want the receiver to play in a real game), but the Receiver can’t just rush at the ball... it’s not that simple... he must be sure the ball is coming at him, because if it’s a bad pass he may have to move sideways to stop it. Another tip: The Receiver can block the ball in front of him and run to it as a way to speed up (again, this is good training for a real game). Another one: The pass MUST be accurate... one bad pass can lose the game... the pass needs to not be too hard, but it can’t be too easy either... they will learn the proper "weight" by playing this game. These are some of the things this game teaches, and your players will learn by playing the game. If you use this approach, it changes your role from a nagging coach to a guy who is giving his players tips so the can improve. The reason it works is that when they are playing our games they will see IMMEDIATE results... so they are getting immediate positive feedback and seeing that your "tips" really work. They will see that the players who follow the coaches’ tips win more games than those who don’t... those who listen will win, and those who don’t listen will lose.
Comment:
Whether children continue to play soccer will have a lot to do with whether it is fun at early ages. SoccerHelp Practice Games are designed to be fun, to teach important skills and concepts, and to keep players active. We don't use "knock-out" or elimination games which leave kids standing on the sideline and we don't use games such as "Crab Soccer" which are fun but have many kids crawling on the ground instead of learning to play soccer. There are thousands of drills on the Internet, but most are not well thought out, efficient, effective or fun. Most drills and games do not provide enough touches on the ball or the activity level is too low (i.e., there is too much standing around) to meet SoccerHelp standards. SoccerHelp Practice Games are selected from hundreds we have tried and less than 5% of the games we evaluate are selected for SoccerHelp Premium. We believe in positive motivation and don't believe in punishing a child who has tried their best but lost a Practice Game. Thus, we do not recommend punishing the losers or making the losers leave the game..
Want to Re-Print this article or part of it? You are allowed to link back to this article. You may also copy or re-print up to 10 pages from www.soccerhelp.com PROVIDED you don't remove any links or references to SoccerHelp, don't claim that you own the information, and you MUST include www.soccerhelp.com at the top or bottom of the article. To copy our work without crediting us is stealing. We would rather be nice than mean, so please credit www.soccerhelp.com if you copy this.
